The Story Teller

The village by the mountain was buzzing with excitement. A rich man in the city was having a contest. However, no one knows the mechanics of the contest nor the prize at stake. The advertisement only says “JOIN THE CONTEST AND WIN A BIG PRIZE.”

Everybody was waiting for additional information intending to join, but there was none. So, on the day of the contest, only three contestants were brave enough to show up: an ambitious salesman who will do anything for money, an aspiring model who needed money to afford a surgery and a widow who needed money to support her three children.

They waited at the plaza as instructed. A crowd of villagers gathered around them. Then came a trio of vehicles: a sports car, a limousine and an ordinary van. The model waited no invitation, she walked towards the limo which was opened by a uniformed chauffeur. Once inside, she made herself comfortable and poured herself a goblet of chilled champagne and enjoyed the jazz music from the limo’s speaker.

The salesman, on the other hand, jumped into the shiny sports car. He loves fast things. He himself lives a fast-paced life and that made him a successful salesman. After introducing himself to the driver, he fastened his seat belt and zoomed they went.

The widow was the last to go. She felt relieved when she got on the van. The limo and the sports car were too luxurious and too fast for her simple and cordial nature. She greeted her driver like an old friend and they talked and enjoyed the ride.

The first one to arrive in the city, where the rich man lives, was naturally the salesman who was agitated by the  fast drive, followed by the model, flushed by the drink. After half an hour came the widow, obviously refreshed by the exhilarating drive to the city.

They did not wait for long, as the rich man arrived as soon as they were seated. With him were sheets of paper and three pencils. He smiled at them and spoke..

“I am the Rich Man. I worked hard for my wealth. However, no amount of money can buy me more time to enjoy my life because I am ill and might die in a few months. Since I don’t have any children nor any relatives. I have no one to pass my wealth on. So, I made this contest, to look for the most deserving heir or heiress. I am looking for someone whose characteristics are similar to mine that he or she may continue what I have started. I need someone smart enough for details, caring enough to watch over my employees whom I care so much about and appreciative of what he or she has, so that I would know my wealth will be in good hands..

“On a piece of paper, write (1) the plate number of the vehicle you rode to come here; (2) the name of your driver; (3) everything you saw on your way..”

The model wrote the plate number of the limo. She left the #2 blank for she didn’t mind to ask her driver’s name and blank also for #3, she did not look outside.

The salesman was not doing well either. He was able to write the plate number and the name of his driver. But the drive was too fast he couldn’t remember anything.

The widow needed another piece of paper. There was a lot of things to write in addition to the plate number and the name of her driver which she had written already. She had to write about the beautiful meadow they passed by, the dairy farm, the poultry, the market and the small church filled with people. Oh, and don’t forget the newly-weds who came out of the church just as the van drove by. She doesn’t know what the other two contestants saw on their way, but it doesn’t matter to her anymore whether she won or not, it was a very nice experience after all..

After a week, the widow and her three children moved to the Rich Man’s house and inherited half of his properties which include the meadow, the farm and the poultry they passed by, the other half the old man divided among his servants which include the drivers..

(Original story by the blog author, any similarities with other stories are purely incidental)

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